3 pieces added to Rotary Sculpture Garden in Mercy Park
Oct. 21—Three new works were added Thursday morning to the Rotary Sculpture Garden at Joplin's Mercy Park, bringing the total number of sculptures to 20, with more to come before the end of the year.
"House Sitter" is located near the park's entrance, while the nearby "Bear Ball" faces the main entrance road — both sculptures were donated by Barbara and Jim Hicklin. The third sculpture, "Otter Motion," was donated by the Rotary Club of Joplin and is located near the park's water dock. All three sculptures were crafted by Branson-based artist Tim Cherry.
Cherry was on hand Thursday as the three sculptures — each weighing between 80 to 100 pounds — were carefully placed and bolted down atop their respective concrete foundations.
"I'm very honored and very grateful," Cherry said of the opportunity. Each sculpture, he added, takes him between four to six months to complete, including 10 to 12 weeks inside the foundry.
Five of Cherry's sculptures now grace the park's public walking trails. Only Garvin Woodland Gardens, a botanical garden in Hot Springs, Arkansas, has a larger collection of Cherry's sculptures on display. There's a reason why Mercy Park is home to so many of his pieces, he said.
"Joplin has become very much a hometown for me because my wife and her family grew up here," Cherry said. Because it symbolizes everything that happened May 22, 2011, Mercy Park "is something that is very meaningful to myself and to my wife's family."
While the EF5 tornado didn't affect his family physically, it had an emotional effect on both Cherry and his wife, Linda, a Joplin native.
"The tornado took all of her history away: her home, her grandparent's home, her school, her church." To place these sculptures on the site of the former St. John's Regional Medical Center, he said, "there is a very deep-rooted attachment and meaning here."
The garden — a joint effort by Joplin's two Rotary clubs — Joplin Rotary Club and Joplin Daybreak Rotary Club — has exceeded all expectations since it opened to the public in September, 2019.
"We thought we might have five or six sculptures (total) by the end of the first three years," said Bob Headlee, who serves as the chairman of the Rotary Sculpture Garden board. It's been a huge jump "from what it was like several years ago to where we are today — in a really good way."
The idea behind the Joplin sculpture garden came to life after Headlee visited the Benson Sculpture Garden in Loveland, Colorado, home to more than 160 sculptures.
While modeled in spirit after Benson, they avoided one mistake the much larger sculpture garden made, and that was not anticipating its future rapid growth and bunching many of their early sculptures together in tight spaces. Here in Mercy Park, sculpture garden officials made sure to spread the sculptures throughout the area, with plenty of elbow room for growth.
That additional space will be needed, Headlee said, as additional sculptures will soon find permanent homes inside the garden. Those additions have already been given approval by members of both Joplin Rotary Club boards.
"We have six more sculptures coming from a donor" who for now will remain anonymous, Headlee said. A public announcement concerning the donation is expected soon.
"It's really impressive to see the large number of people who come out here early in the morning ... walking their dogs," Headlee said of the garden. "The whole idea of the park is for the enjoyment of people."
It's also a popular attraction for out-of-town visitors. Case in point, on Tuesday, a church choir of 42 men and women from Jefferson City toured the gardens and sang a few hymns.
Before leaving, Cherry went around snapping pictures of his various sculptures; he lingered at "Rabbit Reach," which has been called a "kid magnet" because it became an impromptu jungle gym for visiting children.
"They just love it," Cherry said, "and that's awesome. That's what sculptures are all about ... touching and walking around it and seeing it and being a part of it.
"The best compliment you can give me," he continued, "is someone who touches the sculptures because then I've made that emotional connection."
